Linda McCartney's World of Vegetarian Cooking: Over 200 Meat-Free Dishes from Around the World

My mom gave me this book for Christmas and I have to say that it is wonderful! The recipes are perfect and need no alterations! This hardbound book is also a very beautiful, with lovely photos and easy to follow recipes. It would make a great gift.

When I decided to branch out from Betty Crocker and more basic cookbooks, Linda McCartney's WORLD OF VEGETARIAN COOKING was the first cookbook I bought. I honestly feel that it has heightened my appreciation for food and my disdain for vegetarian cookbooks that lack in imagination. Simply put, American cooking leaves little room for those who can't or won't eat beef, pork, poultry, and even seafood; therefore, American vegetarian cookbooks tend to offer the same fritattas, quiches, and portabellos. Linda McCartney, during her travels around the world with Wings, put together a fantastic collection of what the world can offer vegetarians. So throw out the bland books, veggies, and get excited.Recipes to try first: One-Pot Mushroom Risotto, Milanese Risotto, Fontina and Tomato Pie (I made this in bulk for a big party once and never got to eat any of it, it was gone so fast, but I hear it was scrumptious), Coconut Rice Pudding (another party favorite), Sweet and Sour Tofu, Pasta Genovese (the main dish for my very first dinner party), Rhubarb Fool, Avocado Hummus (possibly the best taste I have ever come across), Honey Pudding, and Vegetable Kichdi.This book is fantastic for: Entertaining, cooks ready to move out of the Beginner category, cooking for one or two people, special or every day dinners.This book's weak spots are: Desserts - the Mississippi Mud Pie and the Lemon Sponge Cake did not turn out well. For the cake, I traced it back to omissions and errors within the recipe itself. Also, the desserts are a little less creative than the rest of the book.This book's suprisingly useful spots are: Sauces and Sundries. I cannot emphasize enough - the Avocado Hummus is amazing.I have given this book to so many grateful vegetarians, that "Leave it to Linda" has become our motto.

When Linda McCartney's newest cookbook, World of Vegetarian Cooking, arrived in the mail at my house, I opened the package and took a deep breath. I have bookshelves lined with many really great vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, all with beautiful photos to go along with the recipes, and wonderful ideas for meal planning. But these cookbooks get taken off of the shelf only when it is time to dust, for two main reasons. The first is that most of the recipes have ingredients that I have either never heard of or I can't find in my local grocery store or even health food market. The second reason is that many of the recipes take a long time to prepare. I always think, while perusing these cookbooks in the bookstore, that I will just make the time somehow so that my family will enjoy these vegetarian delicacies. It never happens. As a busy mom, there are times in my day when I have to pause and think, "Have I eaten today?" I need quick recipes with readily available ingredients. Linda McCartney's book is chock full of both. The introduction presents vegetarianism in a way I had never considered before. Linda writes that it is anticipated that at the present rate, if people continue to convert from meat-eaters to vegetarians, by 2050 we will all be vegetarians. Also a lifetime of vegetarian eating, which I hope my son will have, results in saving 760 chickens, 5 cows, 20 pigs, 29 sheep, 46 turkeys, 7 rabbits, and over half a ton of fish. The cookbook has a whole section on nutrition, food groups, and topics such as the vegetarian pantry and alternatives to dairy products. Each recipe comes with a preparation time, so I can plan ahead and decide if I have the amount of time to make a particular entree. There is also a section of the book entitled, "Quick and Easy Meals," which is, of course, the part of the cookbook that I turned to right away! The photos of these recipes looked just as pleasing as the ones in the other sections of the book, but the preparation times for these meals were more reasonable, given my time constraints. Each recipe throughout the book also indicates which country it came from and some even have notes from Linda telling the circumstances around which she first tried the recipe. Sometimes her daughters introduced her to them, other times she ate them at friend's homes. The book ends with menu planners for such celebrations as children's parties, Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving, as well as a midsummer eve's picnic. My family is particularly fond of the festive loaf that is a sort of vegetarian meat loaf made out of veggie burgers. I have served it to non-vegetarians who liked it so much that they requested the recipe! My husband and son prefer the loaf cold and eat it for leftovers in a sandwich. The baked portobello mushrooms were a great main course served with a side of rice and steamed veggies. I love portobellos but cook them the same way every time. The recipe in Linda McCartney's cookbook was quite different from t